Six months since I last posted! Unlike last time, I’m not going to make the mistake of promising to restart regular blogging again. I should have known better than to tempt fate.

As before, I’ll present evidence of the RPG work I’ve been doing instead of blogging, by way of an apology.

• I finally published “Risky Things to do with Sorcery”, my 4^th Explorer’s Society community content release for 7^th Sea. I’ve been plugging away at this all year – it’s the longest thing I’ve ever written – but it took the superlative editing and playtester feedback from Stephen Morffew to get me across the line. I’m proud of this supplement. It’s got a lot more material in it than any of my previous Risky Things, including awesome stuff like journeys through Hell and unstoppable demon monsters and witches who fight magic duels by making out with each other. At this early stage, it’s not selling as well as the other entries, maybe due to the increased price. But I’ve been surprised how extra purchases have continued to trickle in for “Risky Things to do in a Duel” a year after that came out, so who knows what the future holds.
• I went to Dragonmeet, indulging in a bit of networking, nerdy Christmas shopping (including buying the new Alien RPG for myself), and running games of 7^th Sea and Blades in the Dark for the convention’s “Indie Games on the Hour” room. To be honest, I barely remember it – I got so ill immediately afterwards that everything from that time is a vague blur. I probably shouldn’t have gone, but I know I had a good time anyway. I’ll always have a special affection for my “home” convention.
• I had a fantastic opportunity to do some freelance writing for a major license with a major company… which subsequently lost the rights to the license, meaning my work might never see the light of day. Pretty crushing. Since I signed an NDA, I’m not sure if I can talk about the game/company or not, but whichever license you’re guessing is probably the correct one. Sad as this news is, I’m delighted to have worked alongside that company, and am hopeful to continue working with them on even more exciting licenses in the future. Watch this space.
• And of course, I’ve been playing loads of roleplaying campaigns. We finished the campaigns of The Veil and The Secrets of Cats I was playing, and Masks just has one last session to finish off in the new year. As a GM, I’ve run a couple of sessions of our Predation campaign, and am starting the process of winding down Ferrymen (we’ll still probably be playing for months, but when we’ve been playing for seven years, that counts as winding down). This year’s gaming brunch has been heavier on the “brunch” than the “gaming”, but we’re still fitted in one-shots of Feng Shui 2, America the Bulletproof, Shadow of the Beanstalk, The King is Dead and Cypher System. Plus one-shots of The Expanse RPG and Sleepaway when I’ve made time.

I guess this, combined with my last post, ended up being my review of the year! Very efficient. So allow me to look to what the future holds in 2020, and attempt some early New Year’s Resolutions.

• I’m expect to start playing in a couple more games: Wrath and Glory, and my second campaign of 7^th Sea. I also suspect I’ll want to start running something else early-ish in the new year, though I’m not sure what. Undying, The Expanse RPG, Savage Worlds Adventure Edition, and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay are all on my shortlist. One-offs of Alien, For the Queen and Zombie World would be excellent too.
• I want to finish and release some of my indie RPG designs, which have played second fiddle to freelance work and community content submissions over the past year. I definitely want to keep doing freelance work too! And I have a couple of ideas for community content, such as adapting adventures from my ongoing Predation campaign for the Cypher Creator System. But releasing my own game is the milestone I’m still yet to clear, and I’m keen for 2020 to be the year when it happens.
• GenCon! Per my regular every-other-year cycle, I’ll be returning for the Best Four Days in Gaming, with a couple more friends than usual. I attended five conventions in 2017 – this year I only attended two. Hopefully next year I’ll be able to find a better balance.
• I’ll be keeping an eye out for a few much-anticipated releases: Soulbound (the Warhammer Age of Sigmar RPG), Hunter: the Vigil 2^nd Edition, The Yellow King, Urban Shadows 2^nd Edition, Fate of Cthulhu, Agon and Cortex Prime. Who knows which, if any of them, will actually come out next year.

Alright, that’s me signing off for 2019. Happy New Year everyone!